Café culture, Indiana style

Rachael Jones is a remarkable woman.

Not merely for the fact that until a few years ago, Rachael was living as Eric, a married man with three children, in a "redneck" Bible-belt community in the MidWest, but also for the fact that - on finding herself somewhat shunned by "mainstream" employers, and without any capital or even culinary experience - she opened her own business there, in the middle of Bloomington, the "Gateway to Scenic Southern Indiana."

Rachael's Café - with its mission "to bring understanding, education, and acceptance over a cup of coffee" - was born. And when British overseas student of drama Lucy Danser stumbled across the place she was so inspired, she wrote a play about it!

“The reason the café exists, is when she was living as Rachael, she couldn’t find a job anywhere... no one would accept her,” she said. “So she took out a loan from a friend and put everything on the line to bring the cafe to life. It was the bravest thing I had seen anyone do."

And Paul and I went to see the second show in the London première run of Rachael's Café last night.

"For anyone relatively unaware of what being transgender means, this ordinariness, this ability to see things as they are without great angst, without reference to sex, without the remotest tinge of the bizarre, is probably the greatest strength of this play." - Andie's Place.

It is often confusing how to react when one explores of the unknown; in this case, heterosexual transgender identity. From many perspectives - straight, gay or otherwise - this particular way of life is extraordinarily complicated, to say the least. It is a mark of just how admirable Rachael really is, and the skill of Graham Elwell who portrays her so brilliantly, that none of these complications and confusions seem to matter when we are drawn into the "conversation" with this gentle character. Eric/Rachael had more than his/her fair share of tragedy, not least the devastating affair between his wife and best friend, suicide and bullying in the family, and the eternal angst of being a parent with a "secret", and she shares them all with us as if we were her true confidants.

It is a tour-de-force of acting by Mr Elwell, to sensitively portray a real-life person (who was herself waiting in the wings, which must have been even more nerve-wracking!) and her calm and composed dealings with bigots and bullshitters, running a business single-handed, the agonies of a new wig, and the trials of acceptance by her own children, with such dignity and poise. All this, and in heels, too!

Rachael's Café is an astounding piece of drama, worthy of far greater things than the - admittedly charming and fab - off-West End venue of the Old Red Lion Theatre, and I sincerely hope it gets the critical attention it deserves.



When Rachael herself emerged after the play, she immediately captivated us in person as much as her portrayal. As Lucy said in her recent blog, "she’s aware that people need gentle handling to deal with the unfamiliar". With sublime grace she answered all questions and comments from the audience, no matter how "left-field", and left us all with a lasting example of how - no matter how hard, no matter how challenging it may seem - we all have to live our life as we truly are...

Rachael's Cafe trailer

Rachael's Café is on at the Old Red Lion, St John Street, Islington until Saturday 15th March 2014.

Camden and Islington LGBT History Month 2014

Midwest trans, gay superheroes, a Messiah, brown skirts, Elsie and tomato masturbation

[photo courtesy of Krys at KrysPhotos]

Yet again, Paul Burston proved that Polari is more than merely "London's peerless gay literary salon", it is in fact one of the best evening's entertainment you can have with your clothes on! John-John, Craig, little Tony, Ange, "Polari virgin" Vicky, our Paul and I (and an audience that not only included regulars such as Val (VG) Lee but also the estimable Marcus Reeves and gay royalty Bette Bourne) were treated to a spectacular selection of divertissements last night.

Opening with a visual tribute to the cover art of Bowie's new album The Next Day, Paul introduced a newcomer to such events, the diminutive Lucy Danser.



Miss Danser apparently studied Acting and Playwriting at the University of Indiana in Bloomington - a MidWest city not famous for its multicultural tolerance - where, to her surprise, she encountered a most unusual restaurateur, Rachael. This remarkable trans individual - formerly known as Eric - and her valiant struggle to maintain "Rachael's Café" as an oasis where everyone is accepted with no exceptions, standing firm against archetypal Redneck attitudes, inspired Lucy to write a play based upon her life. Miss Danser read us a passage from this fascinating work, which illustrated the difficulties of running this unique venue perfectly. Rachael's Café has been staged at fringe festivals in Edinburgh, Dublin, London and Brighton, and I hope it gets the support it deserves for a proper theatrical run...



Our second reader, Will Davis is an award winning writer and trapeze artist (a most unusual combination, admittedly). As on the last occasion we saw him at Polari, it was the former skill with which he entertained us - with a rather fab and hilarious short story Super Closet, about the bothersome experiences of a world-famous superhero struggling with potentially the only foe that might defeat him - his own homosexuality, and society's homophobia. A brilliant concept, excellently delivered. We were enraptured.



However, our next performer took us on a completely different and unexpected course, as Paul introduced "boylesque" performer Mr Mistress as "The Gay Messiah"! Mere words cannot describe this incredible piece, so here he/she is in person:

Mr Mistress - Gay Messiah

Still reeling from that performance, it was almost time for the break when the stage was invaded by a most unusual protestor - "Barbara Brownskirt from Penge"! Resplendent in cagoule and sensible shoes, she "treated" us to some of her - ahem! - poetry, before being unceremoniously chucked out (to go and "invade the Lesbian and Gay Film Festival", apparently)...



It was, of course, a brilliant and hilarious piss-take by none other than our next reader and Polari favourite, the wonderful Miss Karen McLeod. After the break, the lady herself took centre stage (looking a lot better than her "Barbara Brownskirt" incarnation). She treated us to two of her beautifully-written short stories - both of which feature on her magnificent blog The View From The Thirteenth Floor - the rather funny Sorry, Simon Amstell and rather more touching My Name is Elsie, about escorting her Mum to see her Aunty in a nursing home:

Mum gets out a box of Maltesers. I pull off the cellophane as Mum says her fingers aren't working today.

I notice Elsie looks like her sister, my mum's mother, my grandmother. It's the look of being old, crumpled and tired. Her legs have lost all shape of ankle. I go into the room to fetch her cardigan and skim the row of old folks in the main room. This Morning is on TV and I start praying that I don't end up sat in a room filled with sleeping strangers, watching Eamon Holmes' equivalent. But then again they probably prayed not to be old once too. I stop myself from welling up. I think how all the people look strangely alike.

Karen writes so beautifully. We were stunned...



Before we had chance to get too maudlin - difficult anyway, given Miss McLeod's bubbly personality - it was time for our headliner, cartoonist Steven Appleby!



We loved his previous visit here back in December 2011, and this time he began with a bit of a recap of his story, his life, and the wild imaginings that permeate his drawings - including favourite characters "Dragman" and "Loomus". However, there was an even greater treat in store, as he plucked from a pot (that Val Lee had been around collecting from the audience earlier) a selection of people's "hidden secrets".

From two of these - "I was tempted to push someone off the platform on the Tube" and "I was supposed to plant my tomato seeds, but spent the morning masturbating instead" (!) - he proceeded to create pieces of his wonderful artwork before our eyes!



It was a joy to behold, and a fitting culmination to a brilliant night...





We love Polari!

Award-winning author Paul Bailey headlines the next outing for Polari at the Royal Festival Hall on Friday 26th April 2013. I can't wait...